4h Halloween

I'm so happy and proud to say that both my kids share my love of animals, and have an interest in farming. To my absolute joy, they both wanted to join 4h this year. One will be taking horse and pony, the other poultry. In this small town, where everyone knows each other, participating in that kind of community based organization will be great for them for so many reasons. Yesterday evening. our 4h group hosted a Halloween party for its members. It was the first event of the season, and the first ever for my little monkeys. They had a blast. They were so happy to see all the other kids, who live near by and share interests with them. Since they go to French school, they don't know that many neighbourhood kids yet. I'm so excited for them to get to know more local kids, while exploring the possibilities of farming. Here are some pictures of them on the way into the party.

Leaves and apples

I'm sorry its been so long since I last posted. This Fall has been hecticly busy, and I've been having a hard time keeping up with everything I need to get done. At the forefront of my crazy tasks is still apples. I want to use as many as I can, I hate to waist them. So, I've been trying to make at least one batch of apple preserves a day, may it be apple sauce, apple butter, or some savoy relish or pickle I've come up with. My pantry is filling up nicely. Friends of ours have just offered us use of their cider press too, so I think we'll be experimenting with pressing, and making hard cider next, but that’s a post for another day. I also finished cleaning out the vegetable garden. The pigs are now busy tilling it for me. When they've finished, I'll add a thick layer of compost to leach into it, and brake down over the winter. Then when spring comes, I'll have the pigs turn it once more, and it should be perfect for planting. The leaves are in there prime, I love the look and feel of fall in the forest. The count down to Halloween has also begun. I can't wait. Halloween is my most favourite holiday. The kids have their costumes picked and ready. The pumpkin to carve has been chosen and sits patiently awaiting its scary face. 10 days to go!! Here are a few pictures of life lately, I will post again soon.

and then there were two...

Fall hustle and bustle

Its the busiest time of year around here. The crops are ready and need to be put up for winter, Firewood needs to be split and ready, animal feed needs to be stored. It seems there's just not enough hours in the day. So, here's a quick summary of the goings on. My veggies are ready, and harvest is in full swing. A fun fall weekend trip to the mainland Our new horse Rowan, is settling in nicely. (we're also getting an other horse on Sunday. Pictures to come) The pigs are growing fast, and have learned to climb over their fence (pigs can climb, who knew?)They've become fast friends with Malice, and have taken to waiting for the kids to get home from school by the end of the driveway, and walking them to the front door. Sorry for the shortness of this post, but now I have to run. Lots more needs to be done before the frosts come, and snow blankets the ground and we get to rest.

Mushroom walk

Its been raining the past few days. Warm, humid and rainy. So, early this morning, when there was a break in the weather, I went strait to the forest to look for mushrooms. I was not disappointed. It seems like every possible mushroom was out, enjoying the warm rain. It was just passed dawn, and everything was still. The damp, spongy ground muffled my footsteps. The forest was completely silent as I crept threw the undergrowth taking pictures. The mushroom diversity is amazing. So many shapes, so many colours.They remind me of delicate flowers that smell of rich, damp earth, and appear as if by magic, with no leaves, or swelling buds to give them away. I wish I knew more about mushrooms, there are only a select few that I can identify beyond doubt. And Mushrooms are not something I'm willing to take a chance on, so for now, its only pictures. I dream of the day that I know enough to go pick us wild mushrooms for dinner. I've been actively searching for someone to teach me, but so far, no luck. Here are some of the beauties I saw:

Apple time.

My favourite time of year is upon us.  The morning air is crisp and you need a sweater to do the morning chores. The leaves are starting to change colours, The crops are ready for harvest and the apple trees are heavy with fruit. Its time for the abundance of pies, preserves, and people to share them with. In the warm farmhouse kitchen with a fire crackling in the woodstove and a hot beverage in hand.
I've talk about our orchard before. As the season wears on, more and more of the ancient trees are coming into fruit. Our property was a functioning farm for many generations. Paul's grandmother says she can remember some of the trees being old and covered in fruit when she was a child, and she's now in her 90s. New trees were being added, and the old trees tended until the farm was abandoned in the 70s. The original house is now long gone, and the surrounding forest has claimed many of the fruit trees. But many survive. Some are so choked by the advancing tamarack and spruce that all you can see of them is a gnarled old trunk and a few leaves. Others have faired quit well.  We're working to liberate and rejuvenate the old orchard. Clear out the area, plant new trees (old verities only) where none remain, and care for the once that survive. Its a huge undertaking that will take many years, but its so rewarding to see these trees start to recover, and harvest their long forgotten bounty. So far, all we've found is apples but we were told there used to be plums, pears and cherries in abundance as well. It must have been beautiful in its heyday. It still is in a haunting forgotten place kinda way.